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Dracula Untold

Last night my blogging other half Rory from Eat Drink Run Fun and I attended the premier of Dracula Untold in Dublin’s Savoy.  I’m clearly a terrible Dubliner because I’d never been in the Savoy before.  Having been once, I can’t wait to go back again.  It is gorgeous and I can’t believe I was never there before as it has a lovely vintage lure.

Dracula Untold was directed by Gary Shore and is his first feature film.  Gary spoke to the audience before the film started and was understandably nervous.  The premier was in Aid of St. Francis’ Hospice in Raheny and Gary explained that he had lost his father before filming started.  He wanted to support the good work that the hospice carries out on a daily basis.  I love that Gary chose to have the premier in Dublin in order to support the hospice, as he is Irish and of course because he brought Dracula back to Dublin.  The Bram Stoker festival will start soon and I thought it was a lovely way to start the Halloween festivities.  Luke Evans and Sarah Gadon starred as Vlad and Mirena and also attended the Savoy.

 image courtesy of Rory, eatdrinkrunfun.com

Now I have to admit I wasn’t expecting to like this film.  I know I’m horrible but I’m a massive Dracula fan and I have found fault with a few Dracula related films/shows.  My favourite literature is gothic and I have a slight obsession with all things relating to the macabre.  The film centres on Vlad the Impaler, those of you familiar with Dracula will immediately recognise the connection between Vlad and the legendary vampire.  I don’t want to spoil the film so I’ll discuss the already published plot.   To defend his family and people Vlad must become stronger and gain more power in order to defeat the Turks.  He does this by seeking the help of a deadly vampire.  The remainder of the film examines his descent into becoming Dracula.  It gives Dracula a human side and creates a back-story involving the man before the monster.  There are a couple of central themes in Dracula Untold but my favourite is love, particularly between Vlad and Mirena.

I loved the setting, the costumes, the make-up and the special fx.  Charles Dance is unrecognisable as his character, the prosthetics are amazing and make him look so creepy.   I particularly loved the bat scenes.  The film isn’t at all scary and it isn’t gorey.  This isn’t a typical Dracula film and I think it would be hard to walk away without thinking ah poor old Dracula, sure he’s lovely.  In saying that I still very much enjoyed it and I’d definitely recommend a trip to the cinema to see it this Halloween.  Dracula Untold will be released nationwide on Friday.